TY - JOUR
T1 - Glaucoma
AU - Quigley, Harry A.
N1 - Funding Information:
I have received payment for lectures from Alcon, Allergan, and Pfizer, and have received royalties from Eyemaginations and Johns Hopkins University. My institution has received fees for consultancy work from Alcon and grants from the National Institutes of Health.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Most medical practitioners have regular contact with adults who have one of the two forms of glaucoma: open-angle glaucoma or angle-closure glaucoma. Data from population-based surveys indicate that one in 40 adults older than 40 years has glaucoma with loss of visual function, which equates to 60 million people worldwide being affected and 8·4 million being bilaterally blind. Even in developed countries, half of glaucoma cases are undiagnosed. Glaucoma is mostly asymptomatic until late in the disease when visual problems arise. Vision loss from glaucoma cannot be recovered, and improved case-detection methods for glaucoma are needed. Glaucoma is commonly treated with daily eye-drop drugs, but adherence to treatment is often unsatisfactory. As a usually asymptomatic and chronic disease, glaucoma has similar treatment challenges to chronic systemic diseases. Similarities to the pathogenesis of common CNS diseases mean that common neuroprotective strategies might exist. Successful gene therapy, which has been used for other eye diseases might be possible for the treatment of glaucoma in the future.
AB - Most medical practitioners have regular contact with adults who have one of the two forms of glaucoma: open-angle glaucoma or angle-closure glaucoma. Data from population-based surveys indicate that one in 40 adults older than 40 years has glaucoma with loss of visual function, which equates to 60 million people worldwide being affected and 8·4 million being bilaterally blind. Even in developed countries, half of glaucoma cases are undiagnosed. Glaucoma is mostly asymptomatic until late in the disease when visual problems arise. Vision loss from glaucoma cannot be recovered, and improved case-detection methods for glaucoma are needed. Glaucoma is commonly treated with daily eye-drop drugs, but adherence to treatment is often unsatisfactory. As a usually asymptomatic and chronic disease, glaucoma has similar treatment challenges to chronic systemic diseases. Similarities to the pathogenesis of common CNS diseases mean that common neuroprotective strategies might exist. Successful gene therapy, which has been used for other eye diseases might be possible for the treatment of glaucoma in the future.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61423-7
DO - 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61423-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 21453963
AN - SCOPUS:79954621581
SN - 0140-6736
VL - 377
SP - 1367
EP - 1377
JO - The Lancet
JF - The Lancet
IS - 9774
ER -